The Leica SL3 - A Review by Jonathan Slack

[_Alex_]

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Storage access question: Is the mass storage device mode featured in the SL-3 something that could be firmware enabled in the M11 series, or does it require additional hardware? The apple MFI or PTP modes on the M11s seems limiting and the SL-3 implementation strikes me as much more useful and user friendly. 

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[Smogg]

Last night I saw in a dream M12 with on/off switch like SL3. Woke up in a cold sweat😂

[Photoworks]

19 hours ago, Chaemono said:

I'd say the SL3 sensor in this one is 400% better than the SL2 sensor. I took this one with the α7R IV in November of 2019 when the SL2 came out. I have a similar ISO 3200 with the SL2. It was exposed for the highlights but a bit more than would have been necessary. You wouldn't want to see the SL2 ISO 3200 picture with exposure +2.7 and shadows +68.

Arguably, the DNG in the SL3 with the 50 Summicron-SL would control the highlights even better and shadow noise would be cleaner than in the Sony. To paraphrase Jaap from 2019 'ADC, demosaicing, interpolation, etc [affect IQ].  If the processor is working at the limit of its capabilities [which it likely is in the α7R IV], any power fluctuation may introduce artefacts. The SL3 [should do ] much better with the new CPU."

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I see lots "should" in your wording, and that practice used or are you reading the SL3 specs ?

 

I did some shots at high iso, and it was really hard to see a difference.

Yesterday I was testing my interior photography setup with SL2 and 3  at 100ISO
There is a little difference in how the camera handles highlights but after a few adjustments, they look indistinguishable ( almost). DR is the same, with no improvements in highlights or shadows.

for the *Almost part. the SL2 had more pronounced textual details, rendering fabrics more realistic and accurate. On the SL3 file, i had to up the sharpening and clarity to come closer to the look.

 

[scott kirkpatrick]

14 hours ago, _Alex_ said:

Storage access question: Is the mass storage device mode featured in the SL-3 something that could be firmware enabled in the M11 series, or does it require additional hardware? The apple MFI or PTP modes on the M11s seems limiting and the SL-3 implementation strikes me as much more useful and user friendly. 

That's a question that has been asked many times before.  Glad to see that the SL3 finally did implement mass storage i/o and lets you export from both storage chips with complete access.  It looks to me like the difference is a SMOP (small matter of programming) which  could only be written and tested at the last minute once the hardware is almost ready to ship.  That's always hard.

[LocalHero1953]

I used multishot a lot for a project where all the images were interiors shot from a tripod. I can't see how I would use it now, with most of my photos being of people. (But there's always someone who does it.......)

[Photoworks]

15 hours ago, _Alex_ said:

Storage access question: Is the mass storage device mode featured in the SL-3 something that could be firmware enabled in the M11 series, or does it require additional hardware? The apple MFI or PTP modes on the M11s seems limiting and the SL-3 implementation strikes me as much more useful and user friendly. 

Leica had a challenge with downloading images from the internal memory of the M11, what you have not is still not a great solution for my needs.

that is not the case on the SL3

[Virob]

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2 hours ago, Photoworks said:

 

I did some shots at high iso, and it was really hard to see a difference.

Yesterday I was testing my interior photography setup with SL2 and 3  at 100ISO
There is a little difference in how the camera handles highlights but after a few adjustments, they look indistinguishable ( almost). DR is the same, with no improvements in highlights or shadows.

for the *Almost part. the SL2 had more pronounced textual details, rendering fabrics more realistic and accurate. On the SL3 file, i had to up the sharpening and clarity to come closer to the look.

 

Interesting. If there is no practical difference in DR between the SL2 and SL3 at ISO 100, at what ISO does the SL3 get its claimed 1.5 stops improvement? 

[FlashGordonPhotography]

My tests were very preliminary and I don't have my SL2 with me now but I saw different results to @Photoworks. The SL3 files have more usable DR and are somewhat more robust than the SL2. I do have my Q3 with me and I think they might be a small improvement on that. I don't have my M11 to compare.

Usable DR comes down to a few things. It's likely we're seeing different results with different set ups. Nothing more. But when I get home I'll be doing some more comprehensive testing.

In brief. I really like the results from the SL3. It's pretty certain to replace my A7R5 but not my A1. I'm working out a travel kit that'll include an SL3 and X2D (primes). I've ordered a second SL3, which K is going to try out to see if it'll replace her Canon kit as she loves her Q3 and Q2M. If that happens I'll end up with three bodies.

Gordon

[Carrot]

Was just doing a simple comparison test of my SL APO 35mm and M APO 35mm in my dimly lit hallway, both at F2 aperture priority and with AUTO ISO set to minimum shutter speed of 1/125 and max ISO of 6400. So, with the camera left to select ISO and shutter speed, with the SL lens it selected ISO 5000, and with the M lens it selected ISO 4000, and in both shots shutter speed of 1/125 was selected. The resulting pictures reflected the ISO value, in that the SL image was brighter, but actually brighter than my eye was seeing, whereas the M photo was closer to what I was seeing.

Not saying this is a fault, since I wasn’t testing under strict conditions, but it’s as if the combination of SL3 and SL lens was artificially brightening the image, like having exposure compensation set to over expose to a degree. 

[thelivingyears]

I've also been thinking about a Leica SL camera for a long time. But I also have good to very good lenses for Sony, which is why I'm not sure whether I would really make noticeable progress with Leica with the APO lenses.
For Sony I have the 24 1.4 GM, the 50mm 1.2 GM, the Simga 105mm 1.4, Zeiss Batis 135mm APO but also the fabulous Tamron 35-150 (f2.0 – 2.8).

If so, I would probably only use the Leica with one or two lenses. I could imagine a combination of 35mm + 75mm. I really liked the 77mm focal length on the Pentax K-1 (FA 77 Limited). But I have to say that so far I haven't been that impressed with the pictures I've seen of the 75mm from Leica on Flickr and the bokeh (or is it the rendering) seems a bit too nervous to me. Or is that character?
If anyone has a link to images taken with the SL 75 (beyond Flickr), I would greatly appreciate it. I often read about enthusiastic users, but so far I can't reconcile that with what I've seen.

Edited March 15, 2024 by thelivingyears

[Photoworks]

1 hour ago, thelivingyears said:

If anyone has a link to images taken with the SL 75 (beyond Flickr), I would greatly appreciate it. I often read about enthusiastic users, but so far I can't reconcile that with what I've seen.

SL 75 samples

[algrove]

On 3/13/2024 at 5:10 AM, Smogg said:

Last night I saw in a dream M12 with on/off switch like SL3. Woke up in a cold sweat😂

Was the SL3 on/off switch on the M12 in your dream on the right side or left side of the camera?

[algrove]

Not to forget Jono. Thanks again for your review. I found it very interesting you were chasing other camera systems. Now I don't feel so bad.😀

I have had my SL3 an entire week now and still find new items to try. Multi-shot is nowhere to be found and that is my only disappointment so far. 

Edited March 15, 2024 by algrove

[Dr. G]

On 3/13/2024 at 9:05 AM, Photoworks said:

 

for the *Almost part. the SL2 had more pronounced textual details, rendering fabrics more realistic and accurate. On the SL3 file, i had to up the sharpening and clarity to come closer to the look.

 

Perhaps it's the result of the PDAF matrix.  I've wondered whether the perceived resolution of SL2 images would be higher than those from the SL3 because of it.

Edited March 17, 2024 by Dr. G

[Smogg]

Does the SL3 have a setting to disable Exposure Simulation in aperture priority mode? This is handy on the M11: rear screen remains bright and easy to read for framing, while Exposure Simulation only works while the shutter button is pressed

[Photoworks]

6 hours ago, Smogg said:

Does the SL3 have a setting to disable Exposure Simulation in aperture priority mode? This is handy on the M11: rear screen remains bright and easy to read for framing, while Exposure Simulation only works while the shutter button is pressed

only in "M" mode. I use it all the time when I shoot with strobes in the studio.

[jrp]

Well I can confirm that the SL3 is not yet well tuned for black dogs.  In Animal (Beta) focusing mode the boxes are drawn around them, but the camera focuses on the collar rather than the head. Admittedly the dogs I was testing on (giant schnauzer) have eyes fairly well hidden by fringes, most of the time, but I got a better hit rate with field or spot mode on the SL2 (daylight or indoors at night). 

[jonoslack]

20 hours ago, jrp said:

Well I can confirm that the SL3 is not yet well tuned for black dogs.  In Animal (Beta) focusing mode the boxes are drawn around them, but the camera focuses on the collar rather than the head. Admittedly the dogs I was testing on (giant schnauzer) have eyes fairly well hidden by fringes, most of the time, but I got a better hit rate with field or spot mode on the SL2 (daylight or indoors at night). 

I understand animal eyes are rather difficult. I got the impression that mine focused on the nearest point of the dog, and considering how zippy she is it did a pretty good job of it. But you can’t see Uny’s collar or eyes!

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica L-Mount

[algrove]

Jono, I looked all over the place but have not seen a Leica document describing the DR of each setting. 60MP=15 shots I assume, but what about 36MP and 18MP as far as DR is concerned. Thanks. Lou

[SrMi]

4 minutes ago, algrove said:

Jono, I looked all over the place but have not seen a Leica document describing the DR of each setting. 60MP=15 shots I assume, but what about 36MP and 18MP as far as DR is concerned. Thanks. Lou

Both DxO and P2P measure at the same output size, so the DR does not change with the resolution.
At M11 introduction (first camera with triple resolution), Leica said that the effect of using lowered resolution is the same as scaling down in Photoshop. I assume that SL3 does not apply NR when converting to smaller resolutions.